Everyone says they want equality, but some people don’t seem to understand exactly what that means. Some men feel threatened by the idea of women earning as much money as them, and some women fail to include people of color and those in the LGBTQ+ community into their feminism. But at its core, equality means providing equal status, rights and opportunities to all.
Your gender, race, s*xual orientation, age, physical capabilities and more should not influence how you’re treated by society. But unfortunately, when you’re part of an oppressed community, there can be a temptation to take on the role of oppressor to get back at another community for all of the advantages they’ve had.
It’s understandable why some women may not like men. It’s a fact that in the vast majority of societies around the globe, men have historically had more power and opportunities. The pay gap still exists, and around the world, a third of women have been subjected to physical and/or s*xual violence.
In 2020, about 47,000 women worldwide lost their lives due to violence from intimate partners or family members. And 91% of female doctors in the United Kingdom say they’ve experienced sexism at work. Women are also often forced out of the workforce after deciding to have children, yet even moms who are the breadwinners do significantly more domestic labor than their husbands. Women have a right to be a bit bitter.
But fixing a system that’s rigged against you doesn’t require you to put down the same people that are holding you down. We must all work together to ensure that we lift up those who have been oppressed.
Now, there have been many debates about whether it’s possible for women to be sexist against men. Is reverse-sexism a real thing? It depends who you ask. Some argue that men are simply oppressed in different ways, while others believe that it’s not possible to damage the oppressor when you’re just fighting for a spot at the table. After all, feminism is supposed to benefit everyone. Nobody should have certain expectations or stereotypes placed on them due to their gender.
#11 Haha This Hits Close To Home Since My Mother Is A Large T**d And Divorced My Father, Who Has To Do Everything
People also have different opinions on whether or not misandry is a real issue. Amber Wardell, PhD, wrote a piece for Psychology Today “debunking the myth of the man-hating feminist” where she explained that most feminists actually have a positive view of men. They often have a father, brother, best friend or partner who’s a man that they love deeply. They simply wish that they were provided the same privileges and opportunities as their male counterparts.
Hating men certainly isn’t the goal of true feminism, and pitting two genders against each other clearly isn’t going to solve anything. But this goes both ways. If men are constantly accusing women of trying to play the victim card and use their gender as an excuse, they might fall down a toxic, cynical rabbit hole or end up part of an incel community. And, on the other hand, women have to fight the temptation to hate men for the advantages that they’ve had if they want to move forward.
Nonkosi Chelsea-Rose Tazibona, aka The Weird Brown Girl, wrote a piece on her blog about “why hating men is pointless and bad for your health.” She explains that making blanket statements about an entire gender such as “all men are trash” is reductive and unproductive.
“Hating anyone doesn’t satisfy you in the slightest because whilst you’re propped on your bed reeling about how much you hate a man … I can guarantee that they probably aren’t thinking about you the same way you’re thinking about them,” Nonkosi writes. “They aren’t even phased because your feelings towards them have no impact in their lives.”
